The present invention relates to network management, and more specifically, to a Transparent Interconnect of Lots of Links (TRILL) Shortest Path First (SPF) implementation.
Managing packet traffic within a network typically involves computing the SPF to efficiently direct packets for quickest transmission between two points. In a TRILL campus, network topologies may be distributed. For example, there may be several network trees that can provide a path for packet traffic. Under a TRILL standard, the SPF is typically calculated for each tree. As a network grows, the SPF time for each tree may increase. Every instance of a change in an underlying link-state protocol may require re-computation of the SPF for each tree. Moreover, within a TRILL campus, the SPF is typically re-computed for both unicast and multicast distributions. For example, in a campus with 5 shared multi-destination trees, every SPF interval may compute the SPF for (5+1) runs. As the campus grows and/or as traffic increases and link state changes occur, the amount of computation required may overwhelm network resources.